550 horses would squeak 3800 pounds into the 11s if all things are perfect.I would aim for 580 hp and make sure the driveline is strong.
If you want the cat to be street able and not totally race oriented,I would build a 540-588 will a roller (hydraulic) and use dart 335s as a base to work with. If you want to stay away from rats,then My next choice would be a twin turbo LS-3.
If you dont want efi,then use your gen 1 with a blow through.Turbos have a very "cool factor" to them.If you use a blower,then make sure its fast or people laugh at you.

example here,350 rat rod/dual AFBs on a 671 best time ever 12.01. Good thing its a rat rod

Mine's kinda a pro street / rat rod sorta deal if I had to classify it. It will always be a "poser" car due to the nature of pro street but even a 12 anything would be a fun driver and pretty neat for what the truck is.....turbo's and blowers and big inch BBC's won't happen in this one I'm sure...I will likely get it somewhat quick, and finish up some minor details with trim and small sht, drive it for the summer and then pedal it to try and buy an early 80's Z ........

But you must gear it to leave the line hard and use all the power of the engine.
(Get past peak HP rpm thru the traps.)
You must leave the line hard to get the ET. (gears .converter)

Such and engine when geared correctly will be quite happy cruising at 100 KPH at 3300-3500rpm.
Ditch the flowmasters.

I can get you a 11 sec ET with less than 520HP real dyno HP , but you must leave the line HARD.
( gears/converter/launch) plan on gearing it to run some 12-15% RPM beyond peak power RPM point, thru the traps
trap at 7000 rpm +
and launch at or slightly higher than the peak engine torque rpm (Race converter)

Not going to happen with 4.56's and a 3000 stall, using a Naturally aspirated 383 SBC

This is all based on 3800 lbs (car and driver) 383cid N/A motor and your 31" tall Sportsman Pro's
And a optimistic but realistic chassis efficently quotient factor applied to your car. (tuning the ladder bars etc to get it to work)
"Making it Hook"

Thats not true, Unless you re already unstable
As I said the engine will be quite Happy cruising at that rpm. @100 KPH
With correct timing ( vacuum advance) and jetting at cruise it will be fairly decent on gas too.
Of course as soon as you get your foot in it it is going to make power and consume fuel to do that.

As far as keeping you sane, start by ditiching the Flowmaster mufflers and make the exhaust exit at the rear bumper.

Note: a race converter is much more efficient and "streetable" when the car is geared agressively-correctly.
very little slip at cruise- will not run hot etc.

Under gear it and the car will be a dog and the of course the high styall converter will tend to run hot.

This is a ton of info to process lol, and I appreciate it....as were buried in snow I'm headed out to snowblow and ponder lol.....will be back this eve....

Byady sounds great love to see it ,i am running a bbc in 53 chevy pu just north of 500 hp 3100 lbs we only have 1000 ft track so i dont know 1/4 mile times ,just installed aluminum heads lighter wt more comp try to get times when i get it back togetfer, After paint.

NOS is not avalible for tri power as in picture really have more power than i can hook at this time any way ,only full throttle one time since not broken in yet 1 hr run time,1st gear usless 2nd gear 1/2 track tires still smoking had to back off

NOS is not avalible for tri power as in picture really have more power than i can hook at this time any way ,only full throttle one time since not broken in yet 1 hr run time,1st gear usless 2nd gear 1/2 track tires still smoking had to back off

You must have the same track prep people we have here. If I go to a test and tune day the track prep is terrible and my fatties wont hook either.

Acually this started as a Daily driver had a 305 with 700r od 331 gears ,then i built thus engine a new crate motor 030 over bore .250 over stroke aka 496 ,put comp cam 280,roller rockerss and comp roller chain and push rods .then trick flow alum heads 225/188 -113cc saved 70 lbs alum water pump no hp gain but 19 lbs off the front alum intake with tripowerr 3 holley 500s msd ignition & dist sanderson 3 " headers flattop kb pistons so the 500 est is conservative ,now my son is doing a frame off paint job changing to porsche guards red he is doing it for advertising, his body & restoration shop so price is right ,Probably will see limited use now ,i will be installing 4 link adjustable when i get it back

.. If you were closer to Detroit, I would suggest the Swap Meet at Gibralter North hall which is usually the first weekend of January. I've picked up some screaming bargains there. Like a new pair of Motown 220 aluminum heads for $500. Up in Saginaw, Mich. swap, a new pair of LT4 heads for $85... Seems amazing for a 210/229 cam. If you had a receipt verifying the price, not sure how much customs would be on something like that. I stopped going snow skiing in Canada when a passport was required.

.. If you're considering an Eagle cast crank, you may want to go Scat cast. A quick search of the 'net will get you endless stories of Eagle cast cranks breaking. Forged cranks are a different story.

.. Who's porting the heads and how much porting? That can make an enormous difference in power estimates. Since you're talking a tight budget, I'm assuming maybe just a little cleanup and pocket porting?

And then the little voice in my head hears all of this and starts talking back lol...I'm looking at 1200 for heads, 200 for an intake, 300 for solid cam and lifters....750 for 383 rotating assembly, 700 in machining and assembly.....so....what we have here is app3200$.....or........450 for summit rebuild kit with forged slugs, the same 700 machine and assembly, keep my 906 heads and port them, use the thmper cam I already own, use the springs, guide plates and screw in studs I already own, use my 750dp I already own....and add 2300 for the weiand supercharger.......so....3400$ and I'm blown....likely more reliable then a high strung high compr 383.....and can likely make more power on any given day.....

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.